The Daimyo's Gift
by Neraida
Summary: Two victims of fate... just looking for love or a well-meant heart. JuugoxOC


She was perfect in every way. Her beautiful smile never once faded from her lips so she must have had some idea of how incredible she really was. How her very presence lit up a rainy day and made the raindrops gleam like crystals. She was the kindest person he had ever met… the most pleasant… the most patient. She never complained, never argued, never countered any of Karin's insults or Suigetsu's lewd comments. She was perfect. And that was why… she was Sasuke's.

Her grandfather was the daimyo in the Land of Rice Fields before Orochimaru took over the country and established his Otogakure hideouts. Her family readily surrendered and kept a position of mock authority. Really all they kept were their lives and home. In fear of the Sannin, the daimyo arranged for his youngest son to offer his first born child to Orochimaru as a way of thanks, as well as a way to avoid any other family members being taken. It took several years for the youngest son to find a wife and for them to conceive but they eventually gave birth to the stunning girl that now sat, chewing on a rice ball, next to Uchiha Sasuke on the floor of a cave.

Orochimaru had taken the baby girl to be raised chiefly in the Eastern Underground Hideout, far from her family's home in the Western part of the country. She had learned domestic skills, like cooking and sewing, but also ones more appropriate for the field, such as first aid and medical procedures. But she was not traveling with Team Hebi because of any of her skills. No, she was meant to be the Uchiha's bride. In addition to killing his brother, Itachi, Sasuke had expressed his desire to also restore his clan. That is when the daimyo's gift finally was worth something. After all, she wasn't a ninja so she offered little to The Snake's military forces. But she was a woman and could bring about more Sharingan users. Exactly what both Orochimaru and Sasuke wanted.

But she never married Sasuke. It was only recently that her fate had been decided and soon after, Sasuke had killed Orochimaru. He didn't bother with the official marriage ceremonies and simply claimed her. She didn't seem to mind. She never seemed to mind anything. Even now… when Suigetsu suggested that the two of them should spend some time together in the back of the cave, she didn't seem offended. She simply swallowed the rice she had in her mouth and told Suigetsu he needed to ask Sasuke about that, not her, making it clear who she belonged to.

Juugo hated it when she did that. It must have been the only thing that she did that he couldn't stand. She wouldn't even tell Suigetsu that she wasn't interested in him or that she wouldn't join him in such activities. She would always say it wasn't her decision… to ask Sasuke. The Uchiha even seemed to like these exchanges. He didn't want the Hozuki to touch his girl but he enjoyed the limitless control that she willingly gave him. It made Juugo angry and he clenched his fists and jaw. Before Sasuke could threaten Suigetsu for this round, Juugo excused himself to collect firewood. He didn't care that it was raining and the wood would be wet and would smoke up the cave when added to the fire. In fact, if he was lucky, the smoke might throw everyone into coughing fits and prevent them from talking. They all talked too much anyway. If he was very lucky, maybe the smoke might suffocate some of them… or maybe he could take care of that himself-

_No, no! _Juugo chastised himself, rubbing the sides of his head with the heels of his hands. He did NOT want Sasuke to die and he was definitely NOT going 'take care' of anyone! That was the whole reason he was with Sasuke… because Kimimaru lived through him and he could control Juugo's episodes and rampages. So even if he tried to kill the Uchiha, he would've been defeated.

Juugo sighed as the cool rain splattered his warm face and he calmed himself down as he stooped to pick up some kindling. He couldn't remember what had caused him to want to do away with the leader of Team Hebi. He could never remember why. Everything would always get so cloudy when he was angry that he wouldn't know what had happened or why it happened in the first place. It was only a few seconds ago, but he still couldn't remember. He hated that too, though it didn't make him mad. Instead it made him feel… sad, which, if you're not familiar with the emotion, is a lot like feeling lonely. Loneliness was something he was well acquainted with.

After gathering an armful of more or less damp wood, Juugo started to return to the mouth of the cave. He followed the wall of the rock to find the mouth but before he could reach his destination, he spotted the girl sitting on the muddy ground. Her back was against the rock and her face was tilted up towards the crying clouds. Her eyes were closed but the way the rain washed over her face, it looked like she was crying. And she wasn't wearing a smile.

Juugo would have called her name to get her attention, but he didn't know it. Sasuke had seemingly taken pains in order to keep anyone else in the group from learning her name. It was probably a control thing, but what possible purpose could that serve? Juugo didn't know a better way to get the girl's attention so he just stood in front of her and watched until she noticed he was there and opened her eyes. She only opened them briefly but Juugo could see that her beautiful irises were laced in sadness and it made his chest tighten.

"I hate it here," her voice rose only faintly over the rain. Juugo blinked in surprise at being spoken to.

"We should be able to get an inn tomorrow night," he assured her but she shook her head and opened her eyes again but kept them half-lidded.

"No, I hate it here with HIM," she explained letting her head collapse in her hands.

"Who?" Juugo inquired, curious. She couldn't be talking about Sasuke, could she? They were both perfect and therefore perfect for each other. No, she had to referring to Suigetsu…

"Sasuke!" she cried, shocking Juugo once again. "He's awful and mean and, and possessive and scary. I thought I'd be happy when I met him because he's really cute… but now, whenever I see him I feel sick and when I'm around him I'm so nervous!" Juugo stared at her as she moved her arms around for effect and he kneeled down in front of her, dropping his logs to the side.

"But you've always seemed happy," Juugo mentioned and watched as she choked on a laugh and wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"Why would I be?" she asked. "There's not a person in the world who really cares about me. Sasuke only wants me to restore his clan, Suigetsu's just a perv… even my own family didn't want me."

"That can't be true," he countered calmly. "You're the most incredible person I've met… so someone must care for you... you're too amazing to disregard." He sucked in a breath once the words were out, nervous about how she would respond. She sniffled and looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears.

"Do you… really mean that?" she sought to confirm while moving her body to a kneeling position, the look in her eyes changing.

"Of course," Juugo whispered with a nod, his eyes wide with anticipation. "Please don't be sad."

"If you're speaking from your heart," she started, leaning in closer to the slightly older male. "I won't need to be as sad."

"I am," he managed to reply even though it felt like the very heart she was speaking of would jump out of his body soon. He wanted so much to kiss the lips that she had hovering just inches in front of his face…

"Then you wouldn't mind if," her face moved even closer yet and Juugo was about to close the distance before he remembered who she belonged to and backed away.

"No, you're Sasuke's girl," he scolded them both as he stood up.

"But I didn't want to be!" she cried, standing up as well. "I'd rather be with someone kind. Someone more like you."

"I'm a monster," he reminded her, and himself.

"But you don't mean to be," she said, approaching him. "We're both things we're forced to be by fate… can't we have this one thing we actually want?" Juugo refused to look at her until she was right in front of him, her hands gently placed on his cloaked chest. "Please," she begged. "Show me you're not just talk." He was rarely a man of talk and he couldn't bear it any longer. His lips collided with hers as he wound his arms around her middle. She pressed back into the kiss that lasted as long as they could go without coming up for air. When that happened she rested her head against him.

"He doesn't need to know," she told Juugo who let out a shaky breath and shook his head.

"No one does," he commented and she turned to look up at him, moving her arms around his neck and adjusting herself to stand on her tiptoes so they could begin another kiss. Juugo couldn't explain how he was feeling but he knew he liked it, which was more than he could say for anything he had ever done. He never felt happy until now… with her. He could never let her go. And neither could she.


End file.
